“Anything, Pie.” His voice is low and rumbly. And, I have to admit, when he says my name, it’s… sexy.
Focus, Pie. “How did you get through the tomb door? I thought it was supposed to be locked.”
“It is. But you left your dragon scale behind on your last visit. It’s a key.”
Hmm. Did I leave it behind? Did I really? I mean I knew it was missing when I got home, but I didn’t leave it behind. I think he stole it.
No. It wasn’t him. Because the scale was missing before I met Tarq. I remember that clearly. I was scrambling to explain my appearance when we first met and the scale was already missing. At first, I thought that that’s just how it is. The scale is not a key, but a token that must be exchanged.
But now I’m not so sure. Because the dragon-scale necklace I put on this morning is still here. I can feel it under my shirt, kinda shifting between my tits.
I think Luciano stole that last scale. I don’t know how, but who else had the opportunity?
Tarq is staring at me intently as I think these thoughts. But if he can read my mind, he doesn’t show it. Instead he walks up to me, places a huge, clawed hand on my shoulder and says, “Would you like a tour?” His touch makes me shudder. And I’m too busy thinking about my reaction to him to answer, which makes him take control and assume my answer is yes. “Let’s see your office first. Shall we?”
I don’t care, really. But when he leads me into his office, I can’t help but get curious. “I thought you said we were going to my office? This is your office.”
“Your office is in my office.” And then he closes his office door.
“O-kaaay.” He and I are now alone.
Tarq presses a button on the wall and suddenly all the glass turns opaque.
“Well, that’s not creepy.”
Tarq laughs. “Relax, Pie. I’m not going to jump your bones, if that’s what you’re worried about. I just want some privacy when I open your office door.”
“That’s not creepy, either.” Except it is.
Then I remember the moving bookshelf that hid his safe room, or whatever it was. He walks over to the bookshelf, presses some mechanism, and it opens. Just like last time. But this time, he looks over his shoulder at me and says, “Stay close. The hallways in here are tricky.”
I look down at my cute hooves and pout. Why? Why, God? Why you gotta make my life so unorthodox? Why can’t I just get a boring cubicle like every other assistant in the world? Why you gotta put my office inside a dark, stone hallway that wants to control things?
“Pie?”
“Hm?” I look up and see Tarq waiting for me.
“Stay close?”
“Right. I’m coming.”
I reluctantly follow him into the bookshelf hallway. And it is made of stone. A very light-colored stone that reminds me of the Pyramids or something. Oh! Kinda like that stupid rock Batty gave me. I have an urge to take it out and compare, but Tarq is talking, so I force myself to pay attention.
“This is the research and development department.” And just as he says that, we come out into a huge room. Like huge. I’m talking 30th Street Station kind of huge. It even has the tall, skinny windows and intricate geometric ceiling. In fact, if there weren’t a couple dozen monsters sitting at high-tech laboratory stations, I would almost think this was the 30th Street Station.
“Holy crap,” I say. “What is this?”
“Welcome to Vinca’s premier research laboratory.”
I just stare at all the… things. There’s so much to look at. All the monsters—satyrs, all of them. They are wearing white coats like scientists. And they have a whole bunch of chemistry shit going on. Then I notice the apothecary on the far wall. At first glance, it looks a lot like the one at Saint Mark’s. Jars, and jars, and jars on many, many shelves.
But then I notice that it’s all very… sterile, or whatever. I’m not that close, so maybe I just need a better look at it, but from where I stand the jars do not appear to be filled with herbs and plants or rocks and crystals. It’s all powders and liquids.
The jars in my apothecary are all different sizes. Some of the glass is very thick, like it was handblown hundreds of years ago. And some of my jars are colored. Not amber, like some of these jars. I’m talking real colors. Green, and yellow, and red, and even some purple ones.
These jars come in clear and amber. And they all have stainless-steel lids. In fact, there is a lot of stainless steel in this place. Nothing like the stone counters and leather couches in my apothecary.
Again, there is that same contrast I saw up in Tarq’s office.